A gathering of family and friends will take place on Sunday, November 3rd, from 12:00-3:00 at Donaldson’s Funeral Home, 12540 Clarksville Pike (Rt 108), Clarksville, MD 21029. A memorial service will be held on Monday, November 4th, at 11:00 a.m. at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 12700 Hall Shop Road, Highland, Maryland, 20777.
Marion was a great friend of the MSGA-Women’s Division, played in many of our events, and wholeheartedly supported us. In 2010, the MSGA-WD Executive Committee voted unanimously to award our Distinguished Service Award to her. The Distinguished Service Award is presented to individuals or entities who have made extraordinary contributions to amateur golf in Maryland. Marion was truly an inspiration to those she met and befriended along the way. Her love of golf, integrity, friendly and competitive spirit were a wonderful influence on everyone she came in contact with. How she played the game and lived her life will live on in the hearts of those in our organization and many other organizations she was part of through the years.
In lieu of flowers, Marion’s family has kindly noted that donations may be made in memory of Marion Booth to the Maryland State Golf Association-Women’s Division’s Junior Girls Golf Program. If you would like to make a donation, please mail a check made payable to the MSGA-WD and send to 10455 Falls Road, Lutherville, MD 21093. Donations can also be made over the phone via credit card by calling Kim Ferguson, MSGA Director of Operations, at 410-943-2377. All donations will directly benefit our junior girls golf programs.
Read more about Marion’s accomplishments below:
Marion spent her childhood with three siblings, growing up in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Marion began playing golf in 1933 or 1934, at the young age of 15 or 16. Marion and her sister were tennis players, who enjoyed playing with two guys, Bobby and Jimmy Brownell. The sisters always had to wait until Bobby and Jimmy finished playing golf in order to play tennis with them. One day, Marion and her sister decided to see what all the hype was about the game of golf. There was a pro at Indian Spring, where Marion played tennis, who conducted lessons for women at 9:00, 10:00, and 11:00. It turned out that Marion loved golf so much that she turned up to every lesson, every day. Soon after, she began playing competitively in tournaments. At the age of 18, Marion won four regional titles including the Manor Country Club club championship, Indian Spring Country Club club championship, Women’s District Championship, and the Middle Atlantic Championship. Remarkably, Marion won the Manor and Indian Spring club championships in the same week and on the same day! She completed her match at Indian Spring in the morning and then headed over to Manor to play her afternoon match. Marion won the Manor Ladies Club Championship seven times over the course of 52 years between 1935-1987.
Marion won the Middle Atlantic Championship again in 1938 at Rodgers Forge Club (now known as the Country Club of Maryland) in Baltimore, setting the course record of 77 and beating Helen Dettweiler of Congressional. Helen was also one of our region’s elite amateurs, who later became a golf professional. One of Marion’s fondest memories occurred in 1939, when she was 20 years old. At the U.S. Women’s Golf Championship at the Wee Burn Club in Norton, Connecticut, Marion beat Glenna Collette (Vare) who won the championship six times in the past and was a member of the Curtis Cup team. In that match, Marion was 3-down at the turn and came back to win her match 2 up. Marion lost her next match against Maureen Orcott Crew, another Curtis Cup team member, on the fifth extra hole.
At the local level, Marion won the Corby Cup and other Women’s District Golf Association tournaments. Additionally, she won the Maryland State Super Senior title in 1987 and again in 2005 at Musket Ridge. She always seemed to finish strong in the MSGA Women’s Senior Championship.
